


Silent Move

by thecaptainrabbit



Series: The Other Half [2]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Idk i'm bad at tagging, Titan, Wakanda (Marvel), and a few new friendships, but there's gonna be some references to ships, like the planet, not really tagging any relationships, since most of them are dead, sometimes just hurt without the comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 17:00:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30142713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecaptainrabbit/pseuds/thecaptainrabbit
Summary: After the events of The Other Half, 50% of our heroes have been wiped from existence, including key players in Strange's endgame strategy.  Without Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and the other Avengers who he had been counting on to save the universe, he must adapt his plan and work with King T'Challa, Wanda Maximoff, Peter Parker and the other survivors to defeat Thanos before he can destroy the stones.  The middlegame is over, and now our heroes and Thanos must each plot their next maneuver carefully, because one mistake could change the course of this match.
Relationships: Groot & Guardians of the Galaxy Team, James "Bucky" Barnes & Sam Wilson, Shuri & T'Challa (Marvel), Stephen Strange & Peter Parker, Wanda Maximoff & Natasha Romanov
Series: The Other Half [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2218509
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	Silent Move

**Author's Note:**

  * For [madness_on_the_milano](https://archiveofourown.org/users/madness_on_the_milano/gifts).



> Hey y'all! Sorry it took so long to follow up on that "one shot" I made. I decided to run with the idea of End Game as a chess reference, so I named this fic "Silent Move", a term referring to influential moves in chess that don't involve taking pieces. Hope you enjoy it!

Wakanda

A solemn breeze blew through the open plains of Wakanda, carrying the remains of countless soldiers with it in the form of ash drifting on the wind. In the clearing, the survivors hardly dared to breath for fear of inhaling someone they knew. Bucky looked like he was going to be sick, his face contorted with horror as he knelt to feel the ground where his best friend had just been standing. Wanda refused to leave Vision’s side, cradling her lover’s body in silence. Groot quietly sobbed, clutching his own legs as he sat beside the ashes of his father. T’Challa put a hand on the tree’s shoulder, hoping to offer some form of comfort, but he looked as though he was barely holding himself together.  


Sam slowly staggered his way into the clearing, seemingly in a daze. He glanced around at the remaining heroes, looking for who survived, and who didn’t. After a few moments he looked to Bucky, his face falling.

  


“Steve... and Nat...?” he tentatively asked, afraid of the answer he knew was coming.

  


Bucky couldn’t bring himself to look Sam in the eye. “I... I couldn’t do anything. It-it’s like I was...”

  


Sam completed his thought. “Like you were just there to watch.” He sat down, lying back against a tree, head facing the sky. In the distance, the surviving members of the Wakandan army were regrouping and heading toward their king. T’Challa stood up again to meet them as Sam’s eyes filled with tears. “Like we were all here just to watch him win.”

Titan

The sun beat down on the head of Doctor Stephen Strange as he inspected his sling ring. If it had been damaged during his battle with Thanos, he and his new allies wouldn’t be able to return to Earth, as the Benetar had taken heavy hits during the fight. As such, he had instructed the Guardians to grab anything of value from the ship in case they couldn’t make a return trip. They couldn't count on Carol Danvers to save them if the ship broke down halfway there.  


“Got everything you needed?” Strange’s voice echoed through the barren wastelands of what had once been Thanos’ homeworld, a planet full of life and people. Now, only 5 people could hear him, himself included.

  


“Just about,” replied Peter Quill, one of those aforementioned 5, carrying a box of what appeared to be some sort of high-tech grenades. “Had to make sure we weren’t missing any of Rocket’s weapon stash. He hides these things everywhere.”

  


Strange looked away at the mention of the Guardians’ teammate. He knew that if this half of the heroes had survived, then Rocket must have turned to dust back on Earth, but he dared not bring that up now. The space-faring heroes were already shaken up by the death of Nebula. Quill was focusing as hard as he could on the task at hand, but Strange could tell he was trying to stave off the guilt he surely felt for Thanos’ victory. _I let him hit Thanos because it was necessary in the original timeline_ , he thought to himself. _But without Tony, that mistake may have sealed our fates._

  


Drax and Mantis followed close behind their captain, bringing with them a massive laser cannon and a bandolier of ammunition respectively. They too were full of sorrow for their fallen friends, as well as having to leave their beloved ship behind. They set their haul in a stack beside Quill, who pulled them into a tight embrace before turning to Strange. “This is all we can carry through your portal, magic man. Unless the kid’s extra legs happen to have little hands on them.” he said, gesturing to Peter Parker, who was sitting a few yards away. Strange shook his head. “I don’t think so, but I’ll let him know it’s time to go.”

  


Peter looked out at the landscape before him, one now scarred with craters, scorch marks, and the occasional piece of moon. He’d been sitting here for hours, quietly observing the alien terrain. After Strange had instructed the Guardians to pack their equipment, he’d simply asked to be left alone until it was time to leave, before sitting in silent contemplation. He scarcely noticed Strange walking towards him until the sorcerer was already at his side. As he sat down next to the teen, Peter’s eyes began to well up with tears.

  


“Can we really do this? Without Tony? I know you said we would, but... without him, I feel like I’m just a kid in over my head.”

  


The poor teen had been through so much in so little time. Fighting aliens, going to space, becoming an Avenger and now **this**. Strange didn't see the optimistic and excitable Spider-Man he'd met on the Q-Ship. He saw Peter Parker, a boy who'd just watched his childhood hero die in his arms. He let out a quiet sigh and reached out his arm, placing his hand on Peter’s.

  


“I don’t know, kid. Believe me, I wish I did. But there are infinite timelines, and I only saw just over 14 million. Just because I don’t know where this one leads doesn’t mean it’s doomed to failure.” The teen wiped his eyes as Strange pulled the destroyed Eye of Agamotto from his cloak and began to inspect it, turning it over in his hands. “But I do know two things.”

  


Peter looked at the doctor expectantly. “What do you know?”

  


The Sorcerer Supreme looked back to the young Avenger. “This time, we’ll be prepared, and more importantly, we’ll be united. Our division is what gave Thanos the upper hand, more so than his strength or armies. And I know it sounds absurd, but right now, he's vulnerable. If we work together and make a plan, we can still win this.”

  


Peter nodded. “And the second?”

  


Strange put a hand on Peter’s shoulder, looking him in the eye. “Tony believes in us. In you. And I made a promise. I promised you we’d save him, that we’d save everyone, and we will. Whatever it takes.”

  


Peter closed his eyes, nodding again, and when he opened them, Strange saw no more tears. He only saw that same determination from before. "Whatever it takes," Spider-Man said, standing up and walking towards the Guardians, picking up one of the boxes of weapons and hefting it over his shoulder. Strange strode over two the group, and pulling out his sling ring began to open the portal. Sparks began to form in midair before shaping themselves into a circle, through which the inside of the New York Sanctum could be seen. As the other Guardians grabbed their gear and stepped through the portal, Quill took a deep breath and steadied himself, before stepping foot on Earth for the first time in decades. Peter and Strange followed, and as the heroes stood within the Sanctum's hallowed walls, the Sorcerer closed the portal to Titan behind them.

The Garden

Thanos lay back in his bed, taking in the sounds of the night. His left arm ached, but the pain was not as bad as it had once been, and thanks to his physiology, it wouldn't last forever so long as he got enough rest. And after all the work he'd done to save the universe, didn't he deserve that much? The shack he had built on this small planet was humble, but accommodating enough, and it put no strain on the environment around him. This planet was teeming with life when he found it, a world devoid of any sentient beings to abuse its resources. Now, it only had to contend with one, an old warlord who no longer sought conflict or violence. He was content. He was satisfied. He had won. And he'd watched the most beautiful sunrise he'd ever seen, one over a universe that was now perfectly balanced.

And yet, something about all of this felt... off. Something was gnawing at the edge of his mind. Something about how he'd gotten the time stone, how willing Strange had been to give it away for Stark's life. _Could it be...?_

The Titan's face briefly contorted, perishing the thought. Even if it were a possibility, Strange had no way of knowing Stark would even survive. Thanos slowly closed his eyes, but deep down, he still felt a sense of unease, however minor, as he drifted off to sleep.


End file.
